


New Arrivals

by EmilytheLemur



Category: Penguins of Madagascar
Genre: F/F, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27887227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmilytheLemur/pseuds/EmilytheLemur
Summary: Chloe and Dany are best friends and their lives were perfect. That was until the lemur habitat got three new lemurs. Now they have to deal with unwanted additions to their home, but when they get some unfortunate news, they must leave everything they've ever known to go on a dangerous yet exciting quest.
Relationships: OCs relationship
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters but I do own a couple of characters in this story.

“And now, here’s Avril Lavigne with her latest single.”

Chloe pricked her ears when she heard the man over the speakers. She had been lying about in her habitat, trying to find something to entertain herself as she waited for her parents to return, but it was useless. There was nothing to do. Luckily, the humans had forgotten to turn the radio off last night, and finally someone she recognized was playing.

As the lemur listened, she thought about her best friend. She knew how much Dany hated Avril Lavigne, and if she were here, she’d groan and beg for it to stop. Even though they had differing opinions about a lot of things and diverse taste in music, they were still great friends and worked well together.

“I guess opposites really do attract,” Chloe murmured to herself, unable to imagine her life without Dany— not that she even  _ wanted _ to.

The song ended and the same man from before came over the speakers again, announcing that they were going to take a break from music to talk to some people Chloe didn’t know. Sighing, Chloe rolled onto her back and stared up at the sky, almost certain that she could see her otter friend in the clouds.

“I wonder what she’s doing right now,” she thought out loud.

She was distracted from her daydream when she noticed her parents approaching her. She stumbled to her feet and hurried over to greet them. After she hugged them, they all sat down together in the short grass. “So what’s new?” she asked as soon as they were settled.

Most mornings, her parents went on walks around the zoo to gossip with their friends about what’s been happening in the other exhibits, and sometimes they had interesting news to share with Chloe.

They exchanged a look now before turning back to their daughter. “Apparently, there’s some new lemurs,” her dad said unexpectedly, and Chloe stared at him wide-eyed.

“Three of them, to be exact,” her mother clarified. “They should be getting here soon. It would be nice to have more of our kind around,” she added quieter, as if she was talking to herself.

But Chloe nodded in agreement anyways. She wondered what her new zoomates would be like. Would they be red ruffed lemurs like them or would they be another type? Besides her parents, she's never met another lemur before, but both her dad and mother lived in different places before meeting here at the Central Park Zoo so they had told her many stories about all kinds of different lemurs. She found herself getting excited about the new additions to their habitat.

Her dad’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “Anyways, did you have anything planned before the zoo opens?”

“I was thinking about going to visit Dany,” said Chloe.

Her mother was fussing over her daughter’s untidy fur. “As long as you're back in time to greet the first humans,” she told her, as she knocked off a blade of grass stuck to Chloe’s shoulder. Then she gave the young lemur a stern look. “Don’t want you sneaking back in like last time. Someone might see you.”

Chloe felt her ears burn with embarrassment. “Yes, mother,” she murmured. Before her parents said another word, she took off toward the wall of the habitat that separated the lemurs from the rest of the zoo.

But her dad called after her,” You and Dany should come by later and meet the new lemurs!”

Chloe was suddenly nervous just at the thought of meeting new animals. Yeah, she was excited about new lemurs, but she hadn’t realized that she might have to  _ talk _ to them. She kinda hoped she could admire them from a distance. But then again, maybe it’ll be okay if she had Dany with her when she met them. She was always comfortable around her best friend.

She promised to return before the zoo opened with Dany to meet the new additions to the lemur habitat. Then she climbed the wall and jumped down on the other side. After checking that the coast was clear, she ran over to the otter exhibit.

Entering through the grassy area to avoid swimming, Chloe made her way to the log where Dany was usually asleep this time of day. As she passed the cave entrance, she heard snoring and guessed that Dany’s roommate was also still fast asleep.

Arriving at the log, Chloe knocked on it and waited. Finally, the little Asian otter poked her head out and blinked up at the taller animal. Jaws stretching in a yawn, Dany stepped out of her log.

“Hey, Coco,” Dany said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Frustration rose in Chloe. “I told you not to call me that,” she snapped, crossing her arms.

Dany gasped, pretending to be shocked. “You mean, that’s not your name? Since when?”

Chloe tried to hold on to her annoyance, but she couldn’t stop from bursting into laughter. She could not stay mad at Dany for long. Rolling her eyes playfully, she uncrossed her arms. “Besides,” she added,” Coco is more of a monkey name. It’s degrading to a lemur. Anyways,” she went on, changing the subject,” I was listening to Avril Lavigne earlier, and I thought of you.”

Dany stared at her. “You hate me, don’t you?”

Chloe giggled. “No, I thought about how much  _ you  _ hate  _ her _ .”

“Good because I do,” Dany responded, sticking her tongue out at Chloe.

Teasingly, Chloe said,” But with those black rings around your eyes, you kind of look like her.”

Dany gasped. “How could you?” she exclaimed. “I’m hurt; I’m bleeding.” She fell to her knees. “Can’t… go… on… the betrayal…”

Chloe looked around nervously. She hoped nobody was watching. She loved Dany, but she can be really embarrassing sometimes.

"Stop, someone will hear you!" Chloe whined. "You're so embarrassing!" 

As Dany carried on, Chloe had a clever idea to stop the obnoxious behavior. "Geez, if the penguins saw you acting like this, what would they think?" Chloe rolled her eyes and grinned slyly at Dany. She put her hand on her hip and made a very "motherly" scolding face. "You know how smart and serious they all act. You wouldn't want them to think of you as childish."

"Ouch, your insults cut me! But I like to think of it as being child-like. There's nothing wrong with that, is there? I think I would fit right in with them. They're pretty child-like as well." Dany spoke coyly with a bit of exaggerated attitude in her movements. Then she immediately ruined the facade by sticking her tongue out at her friend in an 'I just owned you' sort of way. 

Chloe tried to stifle a smile and rolled her eyes. "You're a pest, you know that, right?”

“But you still love me!” Dany threw her arm around Chloe’s neck.

Chloe nodded, then remembered something. “Oh, I almost forgot! I promised my parents that we’d go meet the new lemurs in my habitat.”

Dany let go of her friend. “And why would you promise something like that?”

“Aw, come on,” Chloe tried encouraging her. “Aren’t you always saying that we need more friends? We can be the first ones to greet them.”

Dany groaned. “Can’t we just make friends with the penguins instead?”

“The penguins probably don’t even know we exist,” Chloe pointed out. “Remember the other day they ran into us and didn’t even apologize?”

“But they flipped away so awesomely!” Dany’s eyes glowed, as if just remembering that excited her.

“Well, just think of this as practice,” Chloe told her. “If we ever work up the courage to actually talk to the penguins, we need to know how to make a good impression, or otherwise we’d never be friends with them.”

“Oh.” Dany paused for a moment. “Why didn’t you say that to begin with?” She was convinced. Without another word, the two friends exited the otter habitat and made their way to where Chloe and her parents lived.

Climbing over the wall, they dropped down into the lemur exhibit. At first they saw nobody, then they noticed three animals off in the far corner.

They kind of looked like Chloe, but one was really small, another very tall, and the last lemur was a bit overweight. Two of them were busy working on something big and colorful, while the third, the lemur with a leafy hat on top of his head, sat in a chair, a drink in his hand.

Chloe and Dany exchanged curious looks before walking over to the lemur in the chair, who was giving out orders as they came up.

“More air!” he demanded. “My bouncy castle must have more air!”

The other two obeyed.

_ So he must be in charge _ , Chloe thought, as she and Dany halted in front of the leader. Dany cleared her throat to get the tall lemur’s attention.

He turned to them and blinked. “Who are you?” he asked.

Instead of answering, Dany questioned,” What are you doing?”

“Doing what the king said, of course,” the tall lemur explained.

Chloe put her head to one side. “King? What king?”

“Me, silly,” replied the ring tailed. “I’m King Julien the XIII, but you can call me Your Highness.”

“More like Your Hiney,” Dany muttered.

“I do not like this one. Get rid of her, Maurice,” Julien said, gesturing to Dany.

Immediately the heavyset lemur abandoned his work with the colorful thing, and ran over to them. He started pushing Dany away. “I’m sorry, but you have to leave.”

Dany glared at him. “I’m not going anywhere.” She stomped her foot down to show that she meant it.

Chloe was confused. “You can’t order us around,” she spoke up. “This is my home!”

“Now, it’s my new kingdom,” Julien announced, crossing his arms. “And you two are now my subjects. Go help Maurice and Mort blow up my bouncy castle.”

“Subjects!” Dany suddenly lost her temper, and before Chloe could stop her, she was yelling at the “king”. “How dare you, you pompous entitled toilet brush!” she shouted. “You should be forced to leave! You are less welcome here than we are! You can't waltz into a place that is already owned and think you're just gonna take over! You can kiss my feet, you jerk!”

Suddenly the small lemur spun around, his big eyes shining. “The feet! I want to kiss the feet!” He ran over to the other lemurs and Dany, spotting the otter when he got there. Disappointed entered his eyes. “Oh… not those feet…”

Dany looked down at him. “Aww, a baby!”

Mort glared at her, trying to seem intimidating, but failing miserably. Dany returned the look, and Mort squeaked, ducking behind Maurice.

Chloe was even more confused. None of this was making any sense. What was with these lemurs? They weren’t like Chloe expected.

She watched as Dany continued to argue with King Julien. Someone clearing their throat made Chloe spin around to see her parents standing behind them.

She gulped, bracing herself for what they might say.

“What is going on here?” Chloe’s dad demanded.

“N-Nothing,” Chloe stammered, attempting to look innocent, but the look her parents gave her told her that they didn’t believe her.

“It doesn’t look like nothing,” her mother said. “It looked like you were arguing with our new zoomates.” She shot Dany an accusing glance.

The otter shifted her feet nervously, avoiding eye contact with Chloe’s parents. Regret ate at Chloe. She wished she had stepped in between Dany and the lemur king instead of just standing there, doing nothing.

For a couple of moments, nobody spoke. Then the silence was broken by Maurice. “It was kinda our fault, too. Right, King Julien?”

The king muttered something under his breath, but when Maurice elbowed him in the stomach, he grunted and nodded.

“That may be so,” Chloe’s dad started.

“But Chloe and Dany should know better,” Chloe’s mother finished. “Actually, Dany, you should be heading back to your own habitat. The zoo will be opening soon.”

“Okay.” Head down, Dany walked away, pausing as she passed Chloe. “I have a feeling we’re not gonna like these new guys.”

As she watched her friend jump over the wall, Chloe silently agreed with her. With a sigh, Chloe turned away from everyone and walked to the other side of the habitat, wanting to avoid Julien and his “subjects”. As she laid down, she longed to be with Dany instead of here with this annoying lemur king.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters but I do own a couple of characters in this story.

Chloe stared up at the tall pedestal. It hadn’t been there the day before. But now it was, and the lemurs, Maurice and Mort, were building a leafy chair upon it. The king had called it his throne.

She didn’t understand. First the “Bouncy Castle”, now this. What was happening?

With a sigh, she turned her back on the working lemurs, heading across the habitat toward the cave she shared with her parents— the new guys have been sleeping on the colorful bounce castle.

Halfway there, a wall of gray appeared in front of her, knocking her to the ground. The king glared down at her.

“Watch where you’re going,” he snapped.

Chloe stood up. “Sorry,” she muttered. Quickly, she dashed around him, flopping down onto her bed in the cave. She didn’t know how long she had been laying there when a shadow fell on her.

Looking up, she saw her mother standing in the entrance to the cave. She sat up as she approached.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” her mother asked gently.

Chloe was about to lie and say she was fine, but before she could stop herself, she was telling her mother how she was really feeling. “I don’t like these new lemurs,” she blurted out. “Especially the king. He’s so bossy and pushy. Why did he come in here and take over like that? This was our home first. It’s not fair!”

Her mother smiled kindly at her. “Oh, sweetie, it may seem unfair, but he’s the king. What he says goes. You were born here without a king,” she went on when Chloe was about to protest,” but news of a king reached your father and I even here. We never thought we’d meet him. We should be honored to have him here.”

Chloe had to stop herself from snorting. Honored? Why? she wondered. She didn’t see what was so great about this lemur. He was annoying and rude. But she couldn’t tell this to her mother, not after the way she spoke of him. She didn’t want to disrespect her, even if she didn’t like the king.

Her mother’s voice broke into her thoughts. “The zoo will be closing soon. When it does, why don’t you go play with Dany?”

This idea cheered Chloe up, and she nodded eagerly. Her mother left the cave and Chloe decided to stay in her bed until the zoo closed. She didn’t want to see the king again.

Finally, the noise of the humans died away, and Chloe poked her head out of the cave. She knew the zoo would be closed by this time and the zookeepers were heading home. She wasn’t worried about being spotted by humans. She made sure the king was nowhere to be seen before dashing to the wall of the habitat.

She was climbing it when a voice called her back. “Where are you going?”

Sighing, she turned around to see the king standing behind her. “I’m going to go see Dany,” she murmured.

“You mean that otter that said those mean things?” the king huffed, looking very upset. Then he stood a little taller, looking like he just made a very important decision. “I forbid you to see her!”

“What!” Chloe exclaimed. “But—“

“I forbid it!” the king shouted.

The other lemurs gathered around. Maurice was looking worried. Even Mort, who usually was in his own little world, looked anxious. Chloe’s mother had her head bowed, avoiding eye contact with her daughter. Finally, the silence was broken by Chloe’s father.

“Your Highness,” he started unsurely, pausing for a long moment when Julien glared at him. Then he took a deep breath and tried again. “Is it really necessary to forbid Chloe and Dany seeing each other? I-I mean they aren’t really… hurting anyone…” His voice trailed away as the king’s eyes narrowed.

“Who’s the king here?” Julien demanded. “That otter made fun of me and I don’t want to see any of you talking to her, got it?”

At first nobody said anything, but when Julien glared at them and repeated,” Got it?” in a harsher tone, his two subjects murmured an agreement. Even Chloe’s parents nodded! Chloe couldn’t believe it. Was everyone against her and Dany? It wasn’t fair!

Hot tears formed in her eyes and she pushed past the king, running into the cave and throwing herself onto her bed. She didn’t know how long she laid there, crying, but eventually night fell and her parents came in and climbed into their beds. They didn’t speak to her, and she was thankful for that, at least. She couldn’t face them after they just submitted to the king like that.

As the night drew on, she fell quiet and stared at the cave roof, replaying the scene with the king in her head. After a while of considering her options, she realized there was only one thing she could do.

She made sure her parents were deep in sleep. Then she quietly climbed out of bed and tiptoed out of the cave. A half-moon hung in the sky, but the lights of the city kept the stars hidden. Since she was born here, she’s never seen the beauty of the night sky, but she’s heard stories from her parents about countless stars just above her head.

Sneaking across the open space of the habitat, she ducked behind the pedestal, feeling thankful that it was here for once since the zookeepers moved it. A quick glance around and she was running to the wall of her habitat, scaling it and dropping down on the other side.

The pathways were dark and silent. In the distance she could hear snores from the animals sound asleep in their exhibits. Sure that she was safe, she made her way through the zoo, ducking into the otter habitat.

Once she was in the exhibit, she let out a sigh of relief. The king hadn’t spotted her. She didn’t like how bossy he was and definitely didn’t want to obey him about never seeing Dany again, which is why she was sneaking about. But at the same time, she didn’t want him to see her disobeying him. It had been embarrassing having him yelling at her like that with the others watching without even stepping in to defend her.

Quietly, she crossed the otter habitat. She knew how mad Dany would be, but she still had to tell her. She’d notice if Chloe suddenly stopped hanging out with her, and she wanted her to hear it from her, before she jumped to conclusions that just won't be true.

Finally, she arrived at her friend’s log and called quietly. “Dany,” she whispered. When there was no reply, she said a little louder,” Dany. Dany, wake up!”

She heard stirring in the log and a moment later Dany poked her head out. The little otter stepped outside and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “Coco? Is that you?”

Chloe was so happy to see her best friend that for once she didn’t care that Dany had called her that degrading name. Throwing her arms around the otter, Chloe pulled her into a hug. This seemed to surprise Dany, who gasped and wriggled in the lemur’s grasp.

“Can’t. Breathe.”

Immediately Chloe let go of her, and Dany made a great show of gasping for air, falling to the ground and sucking in and breathing out. Chloe rolled her eyes, but she wasn’t annoyed for once. She snorted with amusement, unable to keep it in.

After several moments, Dany stopped pretending to be struggling for air and sat up. “So, where were you today?” the otter asked, sounding more curious than upset.

Chloe found herself pouring out everything to her friend, how she had been getting ready to come hang with her when the zoo closed, but was stopped by the king, who forbade her to see Dany. As she confessed all this, Dany’s eyes grew hurt and indignant. When she was finished, Dany huffed and crossed her arms. For a moment she was silent, then her anger exploded.

"I'm gonna kick his butt!” she shouted. “I'm gonna break his face! That arrogant toilet brush is gonna get his attitude shoved down his throat! He will rue this day! He shall quickly learn to fear me! I will not stand for being talked down to in this way! He must learn that he has no authority, and he shall learn it through pain! I will teach him by ramming my foot through his face!" She ended this rant with a stomp of her foot to show that she was angry.

Chloe watched her uncertainty. “What can we do?” she murmured. “He’s the king. My parents said we must listen to him and obey him.”

“Ain't no way I'm listening to that self important toilet brush!” Dany responded.

Sighing, Chloe asked,” So what are we going to do?”

Dany said calmly,” Knock some sense into his thick skull... with a brick…”

Chloe shook her head. “No, we can’t do that.”

"Oh, we really can...." Dany smiled evilly.

Chloe’s relief at seeing her friend was quickly replaced with annoyance. She loved Dany, but she knew exactly how to rub her the wrong way. Not wanting to lose her temper, Chloe said calmly,” Let’s think of an idea that doesn’t involve someone getting hurt.”

"No one important will get hurt…” Dany replied stubbornly. “Just a toilet brush...."

With an exaggerated sigh, Chloe threw her arms in the air. “I give up!” She turned to leave.

"Yes," Dany whispered to herself as she did a little excited dance behind Chloe's back, though not discreet enough to not have been noticed. "I get to beat the toilet brush," she sang quietly to herself.

Chloe shot her a look, but decided not to say anything. She knew once Dany got an idea in her head, it was nearly impossible to convince her otherwise. And she was not in the mood to argue anymore. Yawning, she murmured,” Goodnight,” and ducked out of the otter habitat, running home before anyone noticed she was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters but I do own a couple of characters in this story.

The moon had already set and the sun was just rising, turning the sky to a yellow-orange color. The zoo was waking up to the early hours of the beautiful summer day.

The chimpanzees settled themselves on their branch with the morning paper and a cup of coffee. The kangaroo hopped around his habitat, punching his boxing bag every time he passed it. In the gorilla exhibit, the two large beasts were enjoying their tire swing.

Over at the otter habitat, Marlene emerged from the cave. She stretched and yawned. As she looked around, she spotted her roommate near the pool. Curious, she went to join her.

“No, that won’t work,” she heard her mutter as she approached. “How about… No, that’s stupid.” Dany let out a miserable sigh.

“Something wrong?” Marlene asked.

Startled, Dany jumped and spun around. “Um… no,” she stammered. “I was… just… um…” With another sigh, she confessed,” I’m trying to come up with a plan to help Chloe.”

“Help her?” Marlene echoed. “Why? Is she in trouble?”

“Yeah!” Dany answered.

“What’s wrong?” Marlene asked, alarmed.

Dany rolled her eyes. “That toilet brush—“

“Who?”

“The new lemur king,” Dany explained grudgingly. “He forbade me and Chloe to see each other. I wanted to show him that nobody tells me what to do!”

For the first time, Marlene noticed how tired Dany looked. “Have you been up all night?” she asked.

“Who needs sleep?” Dany responded, turning back to the pool and Marlene looked down to see scratches in the mud. Were those plans to… do whatever Dany wanted to do with the lemur king? “There’s work to be done,” Dany muttered.

Marlene watched her uncertainty. She’s been at the Central Park Zoo for almost a month now, and in that time, she’s only talked to Dany a few times and in those short moments, she had seemed fine. But now, there was a light of crazy in her eyes as she talked about taking revenge on the king. It unsettled her.

“Um… yeah. Good luck with that,” she said quickly. “If—If you’ll excuse me… I promised to meet with the penguins this morning. I’ll… see you later, okay?”

Dany hardly heard the last part because she was looking at Marlene with a big grin and a twinkle in her eye. Marlene blinked.

“What?” she asked.

“The penguins!” Dany replied. “They are amazing at coming up with ingenious plans! Do you think they can help me?”

Marlene took a step back. “Um…”

“Can you take me to them?” she begged.

“I… don’t know…”

“Please,” Dany pleaded. “At least let me ask them if they’ll help me.”

After hesitating for another moment, Marlene finally nodded. “Okay,” she murmured. “I’ll take you to them.”

Dany just barely stopped herself from jumping up and down. She was about to properly meet the penguins for the first time ever! She could hardly believe it.  _ Chloe’s gonna be so happy after I get the penguins to take care of that self entitled toilet brush! _

Trying to appear calm, Dany followed Marlene out of the habitat.

* * *

“Weapons check,” the flat-headed penguin ordered, and the bird with a crazy look in his eyes started dry heaving.

Nearby, the youngest member of the team looked away. No matter how many times he witnessed this process, it still made him queasy.

A flipper appeared on his shoulder and he jumped but relaxed when he saw the tall penguin standing beside him. “We have to keep our weapons somewhere,” he pointed out.

“I know,” Private murmured. “But I can’t get used to seeing Rico vomiting them up.” He shuddered and turned his back on the scene.

Just then there was a knock from above.

"Are we expecting anyone, Skippah?" the small penguin asked anxiously.

"I don’t think so. Everyone on alert, just in case. Get in your battle stations, team. I'll find out what's going on outside."

As the others got into position, the leader cautiously walked over to the ladder. Then he paused. They would expect him to climb the ladder and come through the main entrance. He needed to surprise whoever it was, so he hurried over to Private’s fish trophy and pushed it open, sliding into the dark tunnel.

On the island, Dany stood beside Marlene, who was looking increasingly impatient as the moments slipped by with no answer. Dany was just wondering what was taking so long when there was a splash behind them and a flash of black and white. Then something slammed into her and pinned her down. She tried to crane her neck to see who it was, but her attacker held her head so she couldn't move in that direction.

A voice growled in her ear,” Who are you and what do you want?”

Dany was too smashed to reply, but she heard Marlene gasped beside her. “Skipper! Let go of her!”

Skipper sounded surprised to see his otter friend. “Marlene? What are you doing here?”

“You told me to meet you guys here this morning,” she reminded him.

“I did?” Suddenly the weight was lifted off Dany, and she stumbled to her feet. “I guess I forgot,” the lead penguin admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his flipper. “You know how it is, busy with—“

Marlene interrupted him by yelling at him, "That's no excuse to attack people for knocking on your door! You need to calm down and stop taking yourself so seriously, you nitwit!"

For a moment Skipper looked guiltily at Marlene, then turned a glare on Dany. “But who is  _ she _ ?” he demanded, taking a threatening step toward Dany, who backed up, feeling a mixture of fear and admiration.

Marlene slipped between her and the lead penguin. “She’s my roommate,” she explained. “I’m sure you’ve seen her around the zoo. She’s been here longer than me.”

Skipper looked past Marlene and eyed Dany, then nodded once. “I’ve seen her around. You and that young red ruffed lemur spend a lot of time together,” he said to Dany.

“Chloe,” the little otter told him. “She’s actually why I’m here. She needs your help!”

Alarmed, Skipper exchanged a look with Marlene, who looked uneasy. But before any more could be said, suddenly the bowl on the middle of the island was pushed aside and there was a flash of black and white. At the same moment, splashing behind her distracted Dany, who spun around just in time to see a penguin with a crazed look in his eyes slip out of the water. Then the penguin jumped on her and pinned her down, growling at her.

Marlene let out a gasp as two more penguins jumped her and held her down. “Hey! What’s the big idea? Get off me!”

Dany struggled in her attacker’s grip, but it was useless. He had a firm hold on her.

"At ease, boys,” Skipper ordered gently but with authority. “These two have granted clearance."

Instantly, his team let go of the otters and appeared beside Skipper. “I asked Marlene to meet us here this morning,” the lead penguin announced. “And she brought her roommate… um…” He hesitated, pointing to Dany, indicating that she should introduce herself.

Suddenly very shy, which was unusual for her, she stammered,” I... um... my name is Dany... I'm... um... an otter..."

"No way, an otter?” Skipper turned to his teammates and rolled his eyes, adding to Dany,” I had no idea!" 

"Um... sorry..." Dany lowered her eyes and shifted her feet, a wave of embarrassment washing over her.

"Don't be sorry, he's a jerk,” Marlene told her, glaring at the lead penguin.

"Gee, thanks for that, Marlene,” the flat-headed bird muttered crossly.

"Anytime.” Marlene grinned.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters but I do own a couple of characters in this story.

It was so unfair! Staring up at the colorful bouncy castle, Chloe felt anger rising in her. Every morning she would lay down on her favorite spot and listen to the radio playing over the speakers. But now she can’t.

Her tail twitched furiously. Ever since that king arrived, her life has been falling apart. She lost her spot; she can’t see her best friend; what’s next?

With a growl, she turned her back on the bouncy castle, but she ran into a solid wall of gray. She fell back and sighed as she looked up. The king glared down at her.

“Watch it,” he ordered.

Chloe was about to apologize, but stopped herself just in time. Rolling her eyes, she pushed past him. She heard him let out a snort of disgust, but she ignored him. She was almost at the cave when someone called her name.

Turning, she was surprised to see the heavyset lemur, Maurice, walking over to her. “Hello, how are you?” he asked in a friendly tone.

She eyed him suspiciously. He hasn’t talked to her since the new lemurs first arrived and Dany started that fight with them. Then she sighed and hung her head. “Not good,” she murmured. “And it’s thanks to your king.”

“He’s not all that bad,” Maurice said, and Chloe let out a disbelieving snort. “No, really,” he insisted. “He’s just so stressed. He’s had to leave all his subjects behind and move here, and he’s used to being ruler of the lemurs. He’s not used to lemurs arguing with him. Back home, people were grateful for a leader coming up with their decisions.”

Chloe didn’t care. “He didn’t have to come here,” she growled. “You all could have stayed where you were. Better than ruining my life.”

“I’m sorry,” Maurice apologized. “I miss Madagascar very much, but Julien wanted to move here and as his adviser I had to go with him.” Just then the little lemur ran past, calling for Julien as he hurtled himself at the king, wrapping his body around his feet. Maurice sighed. “Mort also wanted to come. We tried leaving him behind, but he followed us.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Chloe asked, confused.

“So you can understand, and hopefully not take everything Julien does or say to heart. He doesn’t mean any of it.”

Chloe didn’t reply and after another moment Maurice sighed and turned away. Chloe watched him leave, then turned to go into the cave, her mind racing. Why should she care about what that king was feeling? It didn’t give him the right to boss her around! But still guilt gnawed at her as she laid in her bed and she didn’t understand why.

* * *

"Okay, so we're all clear on the plan?" Dany asked as she stood from her seat.

"Clear, yes. In agreement, not entirely,” said Skipper. “I don’t particularly like these new lemurs eithers, but are you sure your ‘emergency’ necessarily calls for such actions? I don’t want to drag my team into teenage drama.” Skipper tapped his chin with a flipper as he continued to consider this plan. 

"It's definitely necessary. They've just walked into our home and claimed ownership of it, and of us. We can't allow this to happen. What will you do when he comes to you making demands? Will you just put up with it to avoid conflict?" Dany paused, waiting for acknowledgement. When the penguins seemed to respond positively to her, she continued, "We need to put them in their place now, before they get too comfortable here. The longer we put up with their self proclaimed leadership, the more they will assume that they should be in charge. We have to stop them now."

Skipper looked thoughtful for a moment then sighed. "Alright, you make a good point. We will try this your way for now. But I retain the right to change the plan at any point. Understood?"

"Understood." Dany was really excited about the fact that they were working together and they seemed to think of her as a competent partner. Maybe one day, she could be on their team with them.

About half an hour later, the penguins and otters were inside the lemur habitat, surrounding the home of the self proclaimed king. "Preparations complete. Are you both ready?" Kowalski asked Skipper and Dany. Both nodded, and the two penguins—along with Marlene—leapt off in the direction of their assigned places while Dany picked up her handful of mangoes, and she walked up to the entrance of the lemurs home. Fortunately, they were awake. Unfortunately, they were blaring horrible music and dancing. She bit her tongue to avoid making rude comments. 

"Um... hi..." Dany spoke loudly in order to get their attention. They turned and looked at her, perplexed. "Okay, now that I have your attention, I'm here to discuss this recent issue of you saying that I can't come here. I'm gonna need you to stop that."

"Excuse me, rude otter girl?" Julien asked in an offended tone. 

Dany ignored him and continued. "So, I brought you these mangoes in an attempt to work out a peaceful agreement. Otherwise, I'll have to turn to more aggressive tactics. So, will you accept the peaceful agreement or will I have to resort to force?"

"Force? How are you planning on forcing us out?" Maurice asked, starting to seem worried. 

"Oh please, she has no plan! This little otter type girl cannot possibly force me out! I am the king! My loyal subjects will force her out! Leave, annoying child!" Julien shouted in a derisive tone of voice. 

"Well, you asked for it." Dany casually turned her head to the nearby tree. "Offensive maneuvers."

Suddenly, bunches of mangoes and other fruits were flying at the lemurs from all directions. The lemurs ducked and tried to protect their heads with their hands, and Julien hid crouched under Maurice to avoid the fruit assault. 

Maurice shouted at the trees and their occupants, "Okay, okay. Please stop. We'll discuss this in a civil manner." 

"Wait, what! I did not authorize this!" Julien yelled at him.

"Just do it, your highness. We have no way of defending against an attack here." 

"Ugh! Fine! We surrender! We'll talk about it," Julien said in a sassy tone while rolling his eyes. 

"Alright then. We appreciate your cooperation." Dany replied in a cocky manner. 

Julien gave her a hostile look then groaned as he gave in and walked over to the otters with his subjects so they could begin the discussion.

The commotion outside brought Chloe out of the cave and she couldn’t believe her eyes. Dany was there, talking to the lemur king, who wasn’t looking happy at all. Maurice and Mort hopped off the pedestal to join Julien as he and Dany debated. Marlene stood behind her roommate with the commando penguin team. Chloe stared at the scene with huge eyes.

Wait, Dany actually spoke to the penguins and brought them here!  _ But why?  _ she suddenly wondered.

She walked over to everyone just as her parents appeared. “What is going on here?” Chloe’s dad demanded. Then he noticed Dany and widened his eyes. “Dany, what are you doing here? The king said you weren’t welcome here.”

Chloe noticed the flash of anger in Dany’s eyes, but she remained calm as she responded. “We are discussing that now,” she told him.

“I don’t understand,” said Chloe’s mother.

Julien, looking annoyed, started explaining how Dany had shown up and demanded a talk, then attacked them when they refused. He was just saying that they gave in when the youngest of the penguin team suddenly raised the alarm.

“Alice!” he called. “Alice is coming!”

In a flash, the penguins bolted out of the lemur habitat, Marlene right behind them, but she paused when Dany didn’t move. “Come on!” her roommate ordered, grabbing her arm and pulling her away. Dany fought to get free, but Marlene had a tight grip on her. “We need to go!”

Dany locked eyes with Chloe, and Chloe waved goodbye to her. Then the otters disappeared over the wall just when Alice the zookeeper opened the back door to the habitat. She strolled in, a large cage in her hand that unsteadied her, muttering to herself the whole time.

“I don’t know why we got new lemurs just to get rid of the old ones. Too much work for me.” The zookeeper sighed and set down the cage. She looked up to see all the lemurs gathered together. She walked over to them, shooing the new lemurs away with a wave of her hand. Julien and his subjects retreated to the bouncy castle, watching Alice curiously.

Chloe backed away as the human came over to her and her parents. She didn’t trust the zookeepers like her parents did. She was thankful to them for feeding them and giving them a place to live, but something about them always unsettled her. Maybe it was their large, pink paws, the clumsy way they walked, or even the way they talked to her like she was a baby.

She watched as the zookeeper ushered her parents into the cage. Cautiously, she inched closer, eyeing Alice as she stopped in front of the open door to the cage.

“What’s going on?” she asked her parents.

“Don’t you fear, my sweet,” her mother murmured, rubbing behind her daughter’s ear.

“We’re… going away, Chloe,” her dad reluctantly told her.

Chloe felt like the ground just opened up and swallowed her. “What?” she squeaked in horror. “N-No, you c-can’t! I need you!”

“We don’t have a choice, dear one,” said her mother. “There are too many lemurs here. They are sending us to a zoo that needs more lemurs.”

“You knew they were sending you away?” Chloe choked.

Chloe’s dad nodded. “The penguins told us right before the king and his subjects arrived.”

“The penguins… told you.” Anger rose in Chloe. Why hadn’t they told her or even Dany, when the little otter talked them into her plan?

“We were going to tell you,” her dad went on. “We just didn’t know how. We’re sorry,” he murmured.

Chloe opened her mouth to say it wasn’t their fault but that it was Julien’s. But before she could get a word out, the door to the cage closed, cutting Chloe off from her parents. Her mom reached through the bars to touch Chloe’s hand. “Be brave, my dear Chloe.”

Chloe shook her head. “How can I be without you here with me?”

Her dad was about to reply, but just then Alice picked up the cage and walked away. Chloe ran after her, calling out to her parents.

“No! Come back! I need you!”

“Goodbye, Chloe,” her dad whispered, and Chloe just saw a glimpse of her mom’s face twisted with grief, then the door closed and Chloe was left there, her heart breaking with sadness. “Please, don’t go…”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters but I do own a couple of characters in this story.

Once out of the lemur habitat, Dany snatched her arm from Marlene. She turned to go back to Chloe, but her roommate blocked her way.

“Move!” Dany ordered.

“No, we need to get back to our habitat before Alice sees us.” Marlene pushed her toward the otter exhibit, but before they went very far, heavy footsteps shook the ground underneath them and Alice came into view. Dany and Marlene looked around in alarm; they were right out in the open!

A flash of black and white, and Dany was knocked over and dragged behind a wall. She looked up just in time to see one of the other penguins pulling Marlene into hiding, then she turned on the lead penguin.

“You didn’t have to knock into me like that!” she growled.

“You’re welcome,” Skipper snorted, and shame washed over Dany. She just snapped at her idol!  _ Now he’ll never let me join the team!  _ She was so crazed with worry about Chloe that for a moment she forgot who she was talking to. She opened her mouth to apologize, but then she saw that Alice was holding a large cage and inside the cage was…  _ Chloe’s parents! _

She braced herself to come out of hiding to rescue them, but Skipper blocked her way. Idol or not, she was getting tired of people getting in her way!

“Animals come and go,” the lead penguin told her. “Those lemurs are being transported to another zoo. That’s the life we live here. Sometimes we must say goodbye.”

Dany stared at him. “You  _ knew _ ?” she gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“They didn’t want us to tell anyone,” Kowalski said gently. “We tried keeping them here, but they said they knew what they were doing, said it’s what’s best for Chloe.”

“What’s best for her?” Dany echoed. “Losing her parents? How is that what’s best?”

Skipper shrugged. “We don’t ask questions. They are her parents so they know what’s best for their daughter, even if we don’t understand.”

Dany shook her head desperately, heartbeats away from springing on the lead penguin, only holding back when she reminded herself that he’s more skilled in battle than her.  _ And if I attack him, I’ll never be able to join them some day! _

Suddenly she remembered Chloe and realized that her friend might need her. Without another word, she ran back to the lemur habitat; nobody stopped her, and she was grateful for that at least.

* * *

Chloe couldn’t take her eyes off the door where Alice disappeared through with her parents, not even when Julien and his subjects took a few hesitant steps toward her. She heard the king whispering behind her.

“Go talk to her, Maurice,” the ringtail murmured.

“Why me?” Maurice whispered back.

“Because I said so, and I’m your king.”

Chloe sighed softly. After another moment she pulled her gaze away from the door and turned to the newcomers. “I don’t want to talk,” she said, unable to put any emotion in her voice. She lost her home when the king moved in and ruined everything. Now she lost her parents too. What else could possibly happen?

“Chloe,” Maurice said unsurely. “Listen… I-I’m sorry. What can we do to make it better?”

Chloe stared at him blankly. “Bring my parents back.”

“I-I don’t think we can do that… I’m sorry…”

Chloe numbly turned away from them and took a step toward the cave, when she heard someone calling her name. She looked up to see Dany running across the lemur habitat, halting in front of her.

“C-Chloe,” she panted. “I-I just saw… your parents.” She took a deep breath and steadied her voice. “Are you okay?”

Chloe shook her head, wondering what to say. Suddenly she burst into tears and threw herself at Dany. “Oh Dany,” she sobbed. “She took them away. And I was helpless! I couldn’t do anything to stop it! I’m never gonna see my parents again!”

Dany patted her back, murmuring softly to her. Oddly it was comforting just hearing her otter friend’s voice. She snuggled deeper into Dany’s fur, drinking in her warm, familiar scent.

A voice interrupted the moment. The best friends turned to Julien as the king took a step toward them. “This is very sad and all,” he started, ignoring Maurice when the aye-aye opened his mouth to say something. He flicked his adviser with his tail to silence him. “But may I remind you,  _ you _ —“ He pointed to Dany—“ is not welcome here because of the things you said to me. So you must leave. Goodbye.”

Chloe stared at him. “Y-You’re not serious, are you?”

“Yes I am,” Julien replied, stubbornly crossing his arms.

“I’m not leaving!” Dany growled. “I can go and come as I please.” She snorted and deliberately turned her back on him.

The king was about to respond, looking furious but Chloe forestalled him. “No. Dany, let’s go.”

“Go?” Dany echoed.

“I can’t be here another minute,” the red ruffed lemur whispered. “Let’s get out of here.” Without looking to see if Dany would follow her, she ran to the wall and jumped over it, landing outside of her habitat. She ran in a random direction, hardly noticing the humans around her. A couple of times she was almost stepped on but managed to stumble out of the way just in time.

“Chloe!” she heard Dany calling after her. “Chloe, wait up!”

Finally, Chloe ducked behind a building, tears streaming down her face. Dany appeared beside her. “Chloe! Chloe, it’s okay!”

“No it’s not!” Chloe suddenly turned on Dany, and the otter looked at her, startled, but anger and sadness boiled inside Chloe and she was unable to keep herself from taking it out on her friend. "How could this possibly be okay? First  _ that  _ lemur shows up and starts bossing us around and saying we can’t hang out anymore. And now my parents are gone! What is  _ okay  _ about that?”

“Fine, it’s not okay,” Dany reluctantly admitted. She wasn’t sure what to say for a long moment, then she murmured,” If there’s anything I can do to make it better, I’ll do it.”

Chloe looked up, hope rising in her. “You’ll get my parents back?” She threw herself at Dany, and they stumbled backwards. They fell to the ground, Chloe landing on top of Dany, hugging her tightly.

Dany wrapped her arms around her and then sat up. “Um… well I’m not sure…” Hope started draining from Chloe, and Dany must have noticed the look on her face because she quickly added,” I’m not sure how I’m gonna do it, but I  _ am  _ going to do it. I’ll get your parents back, Coco.”

“Oh, Dany! Thank you! Thank you!”

Dany just nodded and smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters but I do own a couple of characters in this story.

Dany left Chloe to return back to the lemur habitat while she headed home. Her mind was whirling. Bring back Chloe’s parents? How was she supposed to do that? She didn’t even know where they were being transported!

But she knew someone who did. Actually, four someones. Turning away from the otter exhibit, she hurried over to where the penguins lived and hopped over the gates. She swam through the water skillfully and jumped onto the island. She pushed aside the fish bowl without knocking and half fell, half climbed down the ladder.

As she landed, four sets of eyes turned to look at her. Anger flashing across his face, the leader stomped over to her, but before he could say anything, Dany blurted out,” I need your help!”

Skipper looked outraged. “We already helped you,” he growled. “Now it’s time for you to leave.”

“But—“ Dany tried to interrupt, but broke off when Skipper started pushing her toward the exit.

“Um… Skippah?” The small British voice made the leader stop and turn to the youngest member of the team. “Maybe we should help her,” he said, wobbling up to his commanding officer.

“What? Why?” Skipper demanded.

“It just seems like the right thing to do,” Private told him. “We should listen to her problem, at least.”

The leader turned to the other two members of his team. Rico shrugged like he couldn’t be bothered taking sides. Kowalski, on the other hand, was looking thoughtful.

“Perhaps we should hear her out, Skipper,” the tall penguin decided, and Skipper gave him a doubtful glance. “Say we listen to her... What's the worst that could happen? We disagree, we say no, end of story. But if we do agree, we'll be glad we listened. No harm in hearing her story.”

Skipper still looked torn for a moment longer. Then he sighed and nodded reluctantly. “Fine,” he muttered, turning back to Dany. “Why do you need our help this time?” he demanded.

Dany found herself talking so fast that even she couldn’t keep up. She usually did that when she was worked up about something. She told them that Chloe’s really upset about her parents and now she expects Dany to bring them back. “But I don’t know where they’re being transported!”

“And we do,” Private murmured, frowning. Skipper shot him a warning look and the young penguin lowered his gaze.

“Why would we tell you where they are going?” Skipper said, glaring at Dany.

Dany looked at him desperately. “So that I can find them and bring them back to Chloe!”

For a moment, the penguins were silent. Then Private spoke. “They wanted to go peacefully. They didn’t want to cause a scene. They didn’t want to upset Chloe.”

“Didn’t want—“ Dany broke off, anger rising in her.  _ Chloe is very upset! If only they could see that!  _ Then an idea came to her. “Come with me.”

Skipper blinked. “What?”

“Come with me,” Dany repeated.

“Where?” Private asked.

“To the lemur habitat. Come on; hurry!” Without waiting to see if they would follow, she climbed the ladder and hopped onto the island. She waited outside. A couple of moments went by before the penguins joined her.

“Come on!” she called, already running across the island and jumping over the gates. As they neared the lemur exhibit, she slowed down. “Shhh!” she hissed. Then she silently slipped into the lemur habitat, hiding behind the colorful bounce thing. She looked out and saw her best friend curled up outside her cave. She jumped when a voice spoke behind her.

“What are you—“

Dany ran to the king and covered his muzzle with her paw. Just then Maurice, Mort, and the penguins joined them. Dany gestured over to Chloe.

“She’s been there ever since she came back,” Maurice whispered. “Is she okay?”

“Of course she’s not!” Dany snapped. “She just lost her parents!”

“Aww, she looks so miserable,” Private murmured. “We should help her, Skipper.”

Skipper shook his head stubbornly. “Her parents said they wanted to go and there was nothing we could do to change their minds.” Despite his words, there was sympathy in his eyes.

“Perhaps there is something we could do,” Kowalski said, and his friends looked at him with interest. Dany turned to him hopefully, and the king and his subjects put their heads to one side curiously.

* * *

Voices broke into Chloe’s misery, but she didn’t turn to look at everyone that was gathering near the colorful bounce house. She sighed and curled her tail tighter around her.  _ What if Dany can’t bring my parents back? What would I do then? No! I should have more faith in Dany! I just can’t help but wonder if they  _ want  _ to come back… _

“Chloe! Hey, Chloe!”

Chloe glanced up. Dany was calling her. With a massive effort, she pushed herself to her feet and walked over to her best friend. “Yeah?”

“Do you want to see your parents again?” Dany asked.

“You know I do,” Chloe replied.

“Then listen to this!” Dany looked ready to burst. “Kowalski, tell her!”

“Your parents wanted to go peacefully,” the tall penguin started. “They didn’t want to upset you any more than you are now.”

“But Kowalski just had an idea!” Private interrupted.

Kowalski glanced at the young penguin. “Yes, I did. There might be a way to see your parents again and not make a huge scene like they wanted to avoid.” Chloe leaned in closely, listening to Kowalski’s plan with eagerness.

* * *

Chloe and Dany sat on the clock tower, watching the sun rise above the buildings in the distance. Chloe sighed. She grew up here and she was gonna miss it, but if she wanted to see her parents again, which she did, she had to leave. When Kowalski first told her his plan the day before, she had been unsure because she would be leaving behind everything she’s ever known, including Dany. Then her otter friend told her that she was coming with her, which made her decision a lot easier. She could go anywhere with Dany by her side.

Dany let out a sigh. “I’m gonna miss it here,” she murmured as if she could read Chloe’s thoughts.

Chloe nodded. “Yeah,” she agreed. She looked down at the Central Park below them. “Remember that huge dog that chased us?” she asked.

Dany laughed. “Yeah, it was terrifying! Do you remember the time we stole food from a couple and made a picnic for ourselves?”

“Yeah,” Chloe laughed. She looked far into the distance for a moment, lost in memories. Then she asked,” Do you think my parents will be happy to see me again?”

“Of course!” Dany replied instantly. “I’m sure they miss you so much. The way the penguins described it, they didn’t  _ want  _ to go, but even more they didn’t want to make a scene so they just left. But,” she added immediately,” once we find them, they will be so happy to see you that they will never leave you again!”

Chloe smiled. “You think?”

“I know,” Dany responded.

They both turned when they heard someone climbing up beside them. It was Private. He stood panting for a moment, then joined them. “It’s time,” he told them.

“Okay.” Dany and Chloe followed him to the back of the zoo where the rest of the penguins, Marlene, and even Julien and his subjects were waiting for them.

“What are they doing here?” Dany whispered into Chloe’s ear.

Chloe shrugged, fighting back anger. She knew her parents wanted her to respect the king, but she just couldn’t stop blaming his arrival for what happened to her parents.  _ If he had never come, my parents would still be here! _

Skipper walked over to them. “You ready?” he asked the girls. They nodded and followed him over to a box. Kowalski was already there, slapping a sticker onto the side of the box.

“The chimps helped me figure it all out,” the tall penguin confessed. “This box is going to Norfolk, Virginia. It’ll take a few hours to get there, but you should be reunited with your parents before this evening,” he added to Chloe.

“Really?” Excitement coursed through Chloe. This was it! In just a short time, she was leaving her home and going on a long trip, but at the end of her journey, she’ll be with her parents again. Suddenly eager to get going, she hopped into the box. “Come on, Dany!”

Dany laughed, but instead of joining her in the box, she turned to the leader of the penguins. “Thanks for doing this,” she whispered, just loud enough for Chloe to hear. “You’ve really made her happy.”

Skipper looked like he wanted to be annoyed, but he looked fondly at Dany. “You’re a good friend,” he replied. “And brave and you don’t take no for an answer. Keep that up; that stubbornness comes in handy.”

Chloe couldn’t remember ever seeing her friend look so happy. A huge smile on her face, Dany was climbing into the box when Marlene slipped over. “Hey, it was fun being roommates,” she said, grinning, but there was sadness in her eyes.

Dany nodded. “We should have talked more than we did. We could have been good friends.”

“Yeah.” Marlene’s voice broke, and Skipper shot her a surprised look.

“Marlene!” he gasped. “You’re not… gonna cry, are you?”

Marlene shook her head. “No,” she decided, standing a little taller. Then she nudged Skipper playfully and admitted,” Okay, maybe a little.”

Behind them, Private was tearing up and Kowalski was sniffling, but Rico rolled his eyes and gagged like he didn’t like this mushy stuff.

Chloe frowned a little. Who was there to see her off? Marlene wasn’t her roommates and she didn’t talk much to the penguins. Then she heard someone clearing their throat behind her and she spun around to see the king and his subjects standing by the box. She blinked down at them.

“Hey,” she hesitantly said.

“Um…” Julien looked uncertain.

“We hope you find your parents,” Maurice quickly told her. “We’re sorry things turned out the way they did. We didn’t know they would send anyone away if we came.”

Chloe didn’t reply, still upset with them nonetheless. She glanced at the king, and Maurice elbowed him in the stomach.

Grunting, Julien murmured,” Sorry.”

Chloe shifted uneasily. “It’s… not totally your fault,” she reluctantly said. Deciding to put her anger with them aside, she added,” I hope you like living here.”

“Thanks,” Maurice said.

The king opened his mouth, but before he got a word out, Dany jumped into the box and glared at him. He turned and walked away, snapping his fingers for his subjects to join him.

“Good luck!” Maurice called to them as he hurried away. Mort waved goodbye before running after his friends.

Chloe turned to Dany. “Ready?”

“You bet!” she replied. “Are you nervous?”

“A little,” Chloe admitted. “But,” she added,” I’m ready to do this.”

Saying goodbye one last time, the penguins sealed the box and the girls waited. After what felt like a really long time, they heard a voice from outside.

“Virginia?” It was Alice, sounding annoyed like usual about having to do any work. They heard her let out a heavy sigh and for a bit longer, all was silent outside. Then the sound of a truck backing up broke the silence and Chloe swallowed.

_ This is it. Time to go find my parents. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END!!

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment and tell me what you think! Thank you!


End file.
